87 K5 Build...Hmmm, whats that Ryoken up to? stay tuned...

[ryoken]

tho i'm very conscious of the whole steering column "get loose" thing, I can't say I haven't grabbed it before.. thats one, a small one of the reasons I went with a manual, no tilt column... much more durable...

well, hopefully a big labor weekend.. got the caffeine IV going, so it's all good...

gotta make an early morn Homo Depot run first thing tho.. wanna see about some grinding supplies and better lighting...

stoked, I'm ordering the rest of the tube monday, should have it for next weekend...

 

[supersize75k5]

Ryoken, I deal with the passenger entry everytime someone tries to get into my big silverado..


If its a lady I happily just toss her in there, its its a fellow I cringe as they use a knee and the two hadles..ouch

I can recall if you are planning a dash bar or?? If so the factory handle on the dash and the one near the head liner are what works best for people getting in mine.

Maybe build one into the dash bar?

 

[ryoken]

hey Shawn..... thanks for chiming in..

no dash bar.. I'm already running that one up inside the dash, that the console is tieing into....

this has really been a total afterthought for me... i just decided to throw these handles in because it was a cheap, quick, simple thing to do...

I'm trying to make the cage as complete as possible before it gets painted.. thus the tube order to finish the back of the cage next week...

hmmmm, what about a soft hanging one from the top bar over the door, back by the b-pillar? maybe just velcro it to the inside of the b-pillar... thats something I could add later.. like a strap with a handle.. could probably rig something up with harness parts...

or does that sound far-fetched?

one thing for sure, the slider is the step!

 

[Greg72]

The PO of my truck was good at using the steering wheel too - he went through two steering colunms.

IMHO, steering wheels are just a "consumable" version of the grab handle!

I guess the tilt-columns are a lot more susceptible to wear and sloppiness than a regular column like I've got. Mine's still tight, but I don't have THAT much lift and I only really use the wheel to get some momentum to get me headed up into the cab.... it's hard to describe in words, but it works well. Now that I've also removed a 2" body lift, climbing in should be even easier...




EDIT: The soft fabric handles seem like more of a trapeeze challenge to me....just one more thing that is wiggling around while the unfortunate passenger is trying to find something solid to climb with... Just out of curiousity, how high off the ground is the rock slider that they'll be stepping on??

 

[ryoken]

hehe, trapeze... added to the "jungle gym"....

have to keep the wiggle thought in mind... I was thinking more as a secondary grab point, "emergency" type thing...


I expect the upper slider that you step onto to be about 30"....

off to get some candle power.,...

 

[Slapperbar]

You could add these later. http://www.4wd.com/jeep-parts.aspx?cid=3&jeep-sid=219&plID=892

 

[BGKYK5]

I like the idea of the fabric handles from a head bump perspective, but I don't see how you could mount them on a vertical piece of tube - which is the best spot to help get in to the truck.

The PO of my truck was a fairly big guy and I'm guessing he basically did a pull up using the steering wheel and seat back. Both columns he killed were auto/tilt. I can reach the a-pillar and that works fine as a grab handle for me.

 

[ryoken]

after looking at it again today, I'm not concerned about it... I'm 6', and can EASILY reach the handle....


most people shouldn't have a prob, and no fat chicks allowed, so I should be good....












little sneak peak of the first console tube being fitted up......

 

[ryoken]

4 hrs later, you have one of these.......

now I just have to make an exact copy tomorrow...

 

[ryoken]

oh, big props to Slapperbar for the daylight bulb tip...

 

[VegasBruce]

nice work

 

[Slapperbar]

oh, big props to Slapperbar for the daylight bulb tip...

Glad to help.

 

[76zimmer]

oh, big props to Slapperbar for the daylight bulb tip...

Ditto, I just put some in myself, its like adding another fixture in there.
Cool stuff Paul, 4hrs to build the center tube huh...well maybe the next one will zip out in 1/2 hr.
30" to the step up, thats like saddling up on a quarter horse, good luck, I don't know if MY knees could take that anymore.
I like the grab bar on the A pillar coner, maybe another on the seat mounting bar?

 

[ryoken]

maybe the next one will zip out in 1/2 hr.

doubtful.... it is still 4 bends on one tube.... I'll be happy if i can get both in and welded tomorrow... and some of the tiebars and panel tabs in...

need to get composite soon, so I can start getting panels fitted up.. for the overhead, cargo wall, qrters too... I think once I start fitting up the console panels it'll start to look pretty cool... that should go pretty quick...

I did a basic layout of the console essentials tonight....

 

[ryoken]

more Van Gogh-ish PAINT conceptual stuff from the insomniac...




here's somewhat of a look at the console layout...

the back angled section will house a 10" sub woofer...

 

[Greg72]

now I just have to make an exact copy tomorrow...

Hope you at least kept track of the starting dimension for each of those bends? Do you have a degree wheel on your bender?.... I hope so, that will make your life a lot easier.

Props for "earning your bends" by doing all this stuff manually, it's not easy especially with DOM tubing.

 

[ryoken]

Hope you at least kept track of the starting dimension for each of those bends? Do you have a degree wheel on your bender?.... I hope so, that will make your life a lot easier.

Props for "earning your bends" by doing all this stuff manually, it's not easy especially with DOM tubing.

Hell no! I was just grateful to get it "balls on"......

at some point I'll stop being lazy and get a little more "pro" with the bending... i've just been applying "my" math and process to it all.... 3 angle finders, marker, level and tape measure are my basics.. the degree wheel is collecting dust...

all that said, I'm confident I can make a perfect copy of that pretty easy with my methods... start from the middle, yada, yada... the 1.5 is cake compared to that 2", think the cage bending is why I lost 35 lbs!


what do you think of the console design? the exposed tube, recessed panel concept?

 

[Greg72]

I like the console idea a lot.

The only caution I'd give is to give yourself some flexibility with the LCD mounting. If you've ever tried to view an LCD from an angle it can wash-out the image pretty badly. You may also need to consider glare from sunlight as another thing that would make it hard to see.

It could be a simple deal to make the upper part of the LCD mount with a horizontal rod so that the lower part of the LCD could be moved in or out a few inches (almost like a sunvisor effect) to deal with any visibility issues. When not in use, you could just push it back flush with the rest of the console.

With a hardtop up front, this might all be a non-issue but it could be worth thinking about it now and trying out the screen while you sit in the driver's seat to confirm everything looks good.

 

[ryoken]

hmmm, yeah, thanks for the reminder...... I do have that in the back of my brain, one of the reasons for the heavy angle on those tubes...

but, that angle IS dictated by how the steel "needs" to go... the angle out of the dash.. in order for the passenger tube to stay parallel and match up with the ds tube, it needed to be pretty angled... which i was ok with, I figure thats better for glare, etc...

I do like the visor-type idea... definitely keep that in mind when planning it's install.... that might be pretty simple....

I'm REALLY, REALLY gonna end up finding an excuse to buy the LCD as soon as the console has it's panels fitted...

keeping that factory sheetmetal is a huge pain... I 'm so freakin stubborn.. the ds tube comes thru the dash lower and rearward than pass.. hopefully you'll see pics of that tonight... I also need to do some dainty sheetmetal work around the ds tube once in...

thanks for the imput Greg....

 

[BGKYK5]

x2 on the glare issue - it can get pretty bad. I'd suggest getting the LCD in your hands to play with before too long. You don't want to paint yourself into a corner.

I love the console and have been kicking around ideas for one on my truck for the 2019 build. At first I thought there'd be enough space to mount anything, but damn that space goes fast.